


Patricias comfort blanket

by Lonelylittleloser



Category: House of Anubis
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, wagon wheels bring the whole family together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27360139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonelylittleloser/pseuds/Lonelylittleloser
Summary: When Patricias nightmares start coming back, she swallows her pride and texts the only person who knows how to help.
Relationships: Eddie Miller/Patricia Williamson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	Patricias comfort blanket

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Ella! Now you know why I was asking for your fave head cannons. Hope you enjoy this and have an amazing birthday <3 
> 
> This is set a few days after the "failed" ceremony to rewake Frobisher.

After waking up, skin glistening in a fine layer of sweat, and hair messy from tossing and turning, the first thing Patricia did was bolt up to gather her surroundings. She felt her heart rate slow down perhaps only a beat or two when she reacquainted herself with reality and realising she was in her own bedroom, with Mara sound asleep on the other bed across the room. She quickly glanced over to her phone, hoping for once that morning was coming up soon so she could be surrounded by people and not have to worry about falling back to sleep. 

_01:42_

It was like the time was mocking her. She had only fallen asleep about an hour ago, and her mind had already managed to bring back the memories of the past. This time, she had been in the shed where Rufus had taken her all those years ago, the red doors alone bringing back her feeling off fight or flight, aware of the large padlock on the outside. But this time, Rufus had been absent, and the only other person in there, well person was a stretch, was the tank containing Frobisher who'd been left to freeze in time. In her dream, she could have sworn she had seen his eyes open. 

She knew the ceremony had failed. They had all seen it themselves, when Eddie had run in and stopped the whole thing. Of course it had to be Eddie to play the hero. But for some reason, the knowledge the ceremony had failed hadn't stopped it triggering the old part of her psyche which plagued her nights. After 5 more minutes of staring up to the ceiling, she attempted to go back to sleep, but as soon as she turned over to make herself comfortable, the fear struck up inside her again. She didn't want to be asleep. _It's all in your head dummy_! It was something she kept telling herself, but no matter how true it was, it didn't make her any more willing to put herself through that again.

Deciding there was no way sleep was happening anytime soon, she flicked through her phone apps determined to find something to distract her mind from it. She searched through the books on her phone, but for some reason, all the thriller ones she'd installed weren't feeling particularly fun right now. She could try watching a video on YouTube about random pasta making, but that might in and of itself bore her back to sleep where she'd risk it all again. Finally, she decided to see if anyone was online. 

There was Emma, a girl she had met at the Sick Puppies gig a few years prior and had kept on social media, but they rarely spoke any more, and a midnight message may seem a tad out of the blue in this sense. Toby, her neighbour from home. He was sweet, but again, they hadn't spoke since she was roughly 10 years old. That seemed too far a stretch. Mike from Isis house, but he had asked her out in year 7, and after her astounding no, that would just be rude to message him. Finally, her eyes flickered over the one name of anyone in her own house still awake at this ungodly hour as her. Yet again, it just had to be him. 

Eddie Miller, the name practically laughing at her through the phone. No way, she could not ask him for help right now. But she still could sense the part of her heart which begged her to message him. She would just put that down as the nightmare, with her heart not resuming normal rate yet. No, there was surely no way she would ask him for help. 

She clicked off her phone and sighed, reshuffling back into a position to fall asleep. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the sight of Frobisher, eyes wide open came to her so strongly she shot back up again almost as soon as she had gone down. Maybe it was time to give in. She reached back to her phone, and reopening the app, her thumb hovered over his name for a good few moments, back and forth between pride, and feeling safe. Eventually, she gave in.

_You up?_

It seemed like the most basic message in the world, but it still took all of her to press the send button. After what felt like the longest minute in her life, her phone screen lit up again and the gentle vibration rushed through her skin like fire. 

_Yeah, is everything okay???_

It felt weird seeing him so concerned simply by her text message. They used to text at all crazy hours of day back in the summer, before her visit. Now, seeing his response, it made her realise how alike strangers they had become in the smallest senses. With no more missions to complete, it was like they were supposed to go back to how they were, avoiding each other at all costs. She thought then and there she should just not respond. Tell him in the morning he had the ability to sleep-type. He'd believe that one surely? Considering all the options for damage control she could do, she was surprised to feel her phone go again. 

_Yacker??_

She hated the fact that one word could spark so many feeling, but realising Eddie as stubborn as he was wouldn't leave it, she decided to answer back. 

_Yeah everything's fine. Just couldn't sleep. I was bored, you were online. You know how it is._

For someone playing it cool, she really did suck at it. And apparently, he saw through it too. 

_Nightmares again?_

Dammit, why did he have to know her better than she did. It was one of the things that freaked her out so much. His ability to just read her like a book. No one else had ever been able to do that before, save for Joy. But they had been best friends since year 7. Now, he had come swanning in, half way through year 10, ready to break down ever barrier she had ever put up. Finally, she looked back down and decided to message him back. 

_Yeah_

It was short and to the point, but it was all it needed.

_Do you want me to come up to see you?_

This was far from what she had wanted, all she needed was a short distraction to make her heart calm down so she could think of anything but her nightmares. This now was a nightmare of its own.

_No, you'll wake Mara up_

_Do you want to come down here?_

How was he able to type so fast?

_No, I'll wake Fabian up_

_Fabians not here right now_

_Where's Fabian?_

_If you come down here I can tell you._

How was timing such a bitch to her? She stared down at her phone, thinking of some sort of rebbutle to his proposition, before she saw him typing again. 

_I have skittles and those wagon wheel snacks you showed me. You're more than welcome to my snack collection if you want._

_Fine, but I'm only coming for the Wagon Wheels._

A few moments later, Eddies door propped open, and in its frame he saw Patricia in her oversized Evanescence shirt and tartan shorts. Her usual confident demeanour seemed to have faded now, and she looked almost like a deer caught in headlights. He shuffled out of his quilt and moved to sit cross-legged on his bed, and motioned that she could come sit besides him. She walked towards him, fidgeting with her fingers, and he reached for the box under his bed filled with snacks, and pulled out two wagon wheels and handed one to her, and left the box on the bed between the two of them. They sat in silence for a moment, eating their snacks in peace. 

After a while passed, it was finally Eddie to speak first. 

"I thought they stopped before you left America?" It was a loaded comment, even if he hadn't meant it to be. Thoughts flooded her mind of the nights she had spent there with him, when eventually she began sneaking from the guest room to stay in his following more nightmares of the mask, and seeing Rufus again. By the time she had left, they had pretty much completely gone. 

"They had. They're triggered by stress doofus. By the time I left America, it had been months since the mask. They were bound to leave eventually." She looked back to the half eaten wagon-wheel in her hand, took another bite and continues. "The ceremony must've been more stressful that I realised. You know, preventing great evil must've weighed more on my mind than I realised. Just another day in the office I thought." 

Eddie snorted at her sarcasm, wondering how she could even try to act like it hadn't been one of the worst things in her life. He knew she'd dealt with mysterious before, and he ws still pretty new to this, seeing as the mask was some sort of instinctive response. Now, he didn't have a paragon to protect, just the entire world. Which apparently meant his powers weren't as naturally useful as they had been back then. This to him, was one of the most scared he had been in his whole life. 

"You know, you don't have to keep up all the tough girl act. I know this stuff isn't easy. I was there remember." All she did was roll her eyes. Something about him trying to make excuses for her fear seemed all the worse to her. "If you ever, you know, want to talk about the nightmares, you know I'm still here. The offers still open you know." 

"Hey, I don't need a late night psychotherapy session okay." She scoffed it out like the words felt wrong in her own mouth. "Anyway, I'm just here for the scran." 

"You know that's my favourite word since being here. Scran." Patricia tried her hardest not to laugh at the word coming out in his American accent, but it was provided a futile attempt and she began snickering at him.

"Whatever." She said pulling out a pack of Oreos from his snack box, and watching his eyes widen in fake shock.

"Hey, I told you the skittles and the wagon wheels were up for grabs. At what point did I mention the Oreos?"

Thankful for any change in topic, she decided to go the mature route and stick her tongue out to him, before holding the whole pack behind her back. He reached over the bed to try and get them back, and for a small moment he felt like things were normal and just as they were. Thats how he ended up shuffling across to where Patricia sat, reaching around her, whilst she kept holding the chocolates just slightly out of reach. It continues like this for maybe a solid 30 seconds, before the two of them finally froze when they made eye contact and realised how close their faces were. He thought about how he could feel her breath on his nose, and she thought about how warm it felt to have his arms around her.

What lasted maybe 10 seconds had made the two of them feel frozen in time. Thoughts raced round Eddies head. How easy it would be to lean forward and kiss her. How being alone at night reminded him of America. The last play fight they had which ended in them both being each others first. A million thoughts milled through his head, and in a split second decision, he knew what he was going to do. 

Just as he prepared himself though, he heard the sound of a clank behind him, followed by rustling of wrappers. The two split apart near instantly, and noted the snack box had fallen on the floor. 

"You know what, keep the Oreos, you deserve them after your night."

"Thanks." It had came out a mere whisper, her breath had hitched in her throat, heart optimistic about what could have happened just then. But, a pesky fallen snack jar may well have been her saving grace. She couldn't let herself fall back into how she used to be. It was time she learnt she was just better on her own. After watching Eddie put the contents back into its container, she watched him lean against his headboard, throwing more space in-between them, but leaving the box on the floor this time. She opened the Oreos, and decided to throw one at him as she ate one herself, in an attempt to dispel any tension whilst she thought of things to say. "Soo, you didn't tell me where Fabian is tonight."

"Oh yeah, he's gone down to Frobisher's study. Said he wanted to do some reading whilst Victor hopefully sleeps."

"Why? I mean, the ceremony failed, what else does he need to do reading on. It's over." She paused now, wondering if her dream had indeed meant something, and the boys weren't telling her something. "It is over, isn't it?" 

"Oh yeah, don't worry about that. No, KT was just a bit upset that Frobisher's obviously stuck in like, purgatory or whatever state he's in. Fabian thought maybe he could find something in one of Frobisher's journals that even the old man skipped over. Some way to wake him up without an eclipse, or descendants, or just to, you know, put him to rest." 

Of course little miss sunshine had something to do with it. She knew her and KT had grown closer as friends, but it never stopped the spark of jealousy reignite whenever she heard her name coming from Eddies mouth. First, her ex boyfriend, and now her best friend were both bending over backwards for her. It just didn't feel right inside her, and nothing would stop that feeling. Eventually she looked back up to where Eddie was sat and decided it was best to make her exit. 

"Well, that sounds like an awfully fun night of work for him. But, unlike Fabian, I don't think I can stay up for much longer. So, I better go hit they hay as they say." She awkwardly stood up and began making her way to the door, but Eddies voice stopped her before she could get to the handle. 

"Wait a moment!" He said and she turned back around to him wondering what else he had to say. "You could stay the night you know? I mean, Fabian's down in the cellar for a while I'm guessing. You could sleep in his bed, and that way if you have another nightmare, you can just wake me up." She looked into his eyes, and noted how genuine he looked in that moment. Eventually, she put her hand back to her side and decided to take a plunge. In for a penny in for a pound her mother had always said. 

"Actually," she began struggling to look him in the eyes as she spoke, worried about what he might say. "Could I sleep in your bed, with you? It's fine if not I just still feel a bit, shaky you know?" God she felt pathetic asking, and the small part of her wasn't even sure if that was exactly why she had asked him. But the feeling of embarrassment washed away quickly when Eddie got under the quilt and held it open for her. 

"Of course you can. I don't want you to feel alone okay." She tried to hide the small smile which crept onto her face, and headed towards the bed and climbed in, as Eddie pulled the cover around her. He lay on his back, worried about how much contact Patricia would accept for tonights boundaries, after they'd already felt heavily pushed. But instead, she surprised him when she snaked her arm around his torso. He looked down to the head oh hair below him, and as if by instinct, put one arm around the back of her neck, and the over her own torso, before planting a gentle kiss on her hair line. 

As soon as he heard her breath regulate and felt sure she was asleep, he breathed a sigh of relief knowing her calm breathing meant she wasn't having another nightmare. It was then he whispered to her, sure she wasn't able to hear him, his final thoughts of the night before he drifted off to sleep himself. 

"I promise you Patricia, I will always keep you safe. I'll never let them hurt you again." 

And on that final note, he felt his own eyes flutter closed. What he hadn't expected though, was that she was still awake, just the smallest bit. And she indeed heard every word he had just said. Now, she felt hear heart quicken again. But not the same, terrified quickstep of when she had first awoke. But instead, an excited beat skipped, as she tried not to let herself give in to her own heart. For now, she would accept being sat in the arms of a friend, feeling like she had her comfort blanket back in the shape of his arm. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have an essay plan in for this Wednesday so I haven't given a though spell check but I hope this was enjoyable anyway. G'night.


End file.
